The Pilot

Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Tyler Kucifer This sign tells the world that things are differenct at the business school.

Changes including smart classroom technology and scholarships are on the way to the Gardner-Webb's business school, thanks to a multimillion dollar contribution by businessman John Godbold and his wife, Linda.

In July the school was renamed the Godbold School of Business, which comprises the Broyhill Undergraduate School of Management and the Graduate School of Business.

That change has already upped the prestige of the business school and the university as a whole.

Deans from other schools have been visiting and taking notes, according to Dr. Anthony Negbenebor, dean of the business school.

"It has been a great marriage," he said of the Godbold union. "[It has] added a lot of value to the program."

Godbold, who spent almost 50 years in the banking industry, founded the Carolina State Bank in Shelby in 1989.

"We know that investing our money in a Christ-centered school like Gardner-Webb will make a difference and will multiply and help a lot of people," said Godbold in a press release.

"This gives us an opportunity to invest in education and it also gives us an opportunity to give back to a community that was so good to us."

The smart classroom will have technology that can capture lectures and deliver them to students' iPods in a more sophisticated fashion than a simple voice recorder can.

"My goal here is that a kid can just come into a class and pay attention," Negbenebor said. "He or she can get lectures in MP3 format."

While it would not substitute for actual class attendance, it would help with online classes in making learning "fun and direct."

Another of his goals is that faculty video-record their lectures and put them online as well.

Faculty enhancement and development are also apart of the package, along with marketing ventures designed to heighten the school's visibility.

GWU President Frank Bonner praised the Godbolds.

"The Godbolds have been tremendously generous to Gardner-Webb," he said in a press release.

"They have provided leadership and wise counsel in helping the School of Business, and this generous gift is a wonderful endorsement not only of the School of Business but of the entire university and our vision for the future."

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